Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99) walks off the field after the AFC divisional round playoff game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. / Mark L. Baer, USA TODAY Sports

by Mike Garafolo, USA TODAY Sports

by Mike Garafolo, USA TODAY Sports

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. â?? Arian Foster was the guy who didn't want to let the season go. He was the one in the Houston Texans' locker room, sitting at his stall, uniform still on, picking his finger nails and seemingly refusing to accept this promising year was over.

Foster and the Texans had just lost for the fourth time in the last six games, a 41-28 defeat to the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Round, the second straight year they've exited the playoffs after only one victory.

The lesson from this one is not yet clear.

"I don't know yet, man. I'll get back to you tomorrow on that one," said Foster, who ran for 90 yards and a touchdown that pulled the Texans within a touchdown late in the first half. "We just have to play better in these games. We're right there, we feel like we can compete with anybody in the league. It's just you've got to make the plays when the opportunity presents itself."

The Texans began this season with so much promise by rattling off 12 wins in their first 14 games. After their two losses, they bounced back strong with wins over the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts.

That, as defensive lineman Antonio Smith explained Sunday, was a good thing.

"Defeating adversity. Early in the season, last year, that was something that was our (issue)," Smith said. "Every time things would go back, it kind of got worse and worse. This year we dealt with some of it that we had nipped in the bud. It kind of resurfaced toward the end of the season, but it's something we kind of nipped in the bud.

"Obviously, the next area we need to excel in is winning the second playoff game."

They could've won this game by taking advantage of some early opportunities.

The game began with a 94-yard kick return by Danieal Manning that started Houston at the Patriots' 12-yard line. But Matt Schaub fired high and wide of an open Andre Johnson in the end zone. The Texans settled for a field goal.

"It got away from me a little bit," Schaub said. "I was a little late with the football going from my read low to high and the safety was coming backside, so I tried to get in there, but it just took off a little on me."

On their next possession, Johnson thought he was held on a second-and-11 by Pats cornerback Aqib Talib. No penalty was called, and they punted. One possession later, Houston opened with a 14-yard pass from Schaub to Johnson, but then it was three-and-out from there.

Mind you, the Patriots' first two possessions resulted in punts. It was only a matter of time before they'd stop handing Houston opportunities. Sure enough, they went 65 yards in six plays to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

The Texans did make a run, though, by closing it to 17-13 before halftime, thanks in part to a head-scratchingly conservative series of play calling by the Patriots that gave the Texans a field goal at the end of the second quarter after Foster's touchdown with 1:15 left in the period had made it a one-score game.

"I thought we were in a dang-good football game," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. "But they put together a couple of big drives in the third quarter and we weren't able to match them."

One of the best seasons by a defensive lineman, if not the best, was pretty much all for almost naught. J.J. Watt was one disappointed player afterward.

"Losing, I can't stand it. I can't stand any aspect of it," said Watt, who might soon be named the defensive player of the year. "The taste in your mouth is terrible."

Watt began the day by letting some saliva out of his mouth. He spit on the Patriots' logo, which led to a bit of a brushfire on Twitter.

"I do that every game, home or away. I go out to midfield, I jog out there, I spit a little bit, wipe my feet off and then I go through my stretch," Watt said. "No drama there. That's 100 percent what I do every game, home or away."

Watt's play (a half-sack, a tackle for a loss and a quarterback hit to go along with four tackles) showed he wasn't about to bow down to the Patriots. If only he'd gotten more of that from his teammates, who this season lost a pair of games at Gillette Stadium by a combined score of 83-42.

"I feel bad for the older guys, including myself because you don't get too many shots at this," said Johnson, who will be 32 on opening day next season. "Words can't really describe it because you work so hard to help this organization, yourself, the team, everybody, the city back home. You want everybody to be a part of something special.